1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a shock isolation system and, more particularly, to a shock isolation system that simultaneously isolates the platform, the operator, the operator station and the operator's console to thereby minimize operator exposure to shock and vibration.
2. Description of the Related Art
As anyone who has driven an automobile knows, it has long been known that drivers of commercial and pleasure vehicles are protected from vibration and shock by mounting shock absorbers and springs between the frame of the vehicle and the body of the vehicle. These vehicles generally have a two-stage vibration and shock-isolation system. As the vehicles pass over rough terrain the air-inflatable tires provide an air cushion to absorb some of the impact while further impact and vibration is absorbed by springs and shock absorbers that connect the frame to the body of the vehicle. It has also been known to incorporate similar shock systems in agricultural vehicles such as tractors or the like. A typical prior art system for a tractor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,546.
In contrast to the commercial and pleasure vehicles which can weigh a few tons, there is a second category of heavier equipment that weighs thousands of tons. In addition, the heavier equipment, which includes combat vehicles such as ships, submarines, tanks and the like is generally supported directly in the water or directly on a land surface with no air cushion. While designers of personal and commercial craft have relied on the combination of air inflatable tires and shock and vibration supports to minimize vibration and shock to the operator, the designers of large water craft, such as military battleships, cannot. Instead, the large mass of the ship is used to partially isolate the operator and the operator's equipment from damage. That is, since the ships are so massive the mass of the ship can absorb a large impact before it is felt by a ship operator or a ship console. In order to further protect the electronic consoles on the large combat ships from the effects of impacts from high gravitational (“g”) explosive shocks caused by artillery, bombs, torpedoes or the like as well as from vibration, each of the consoles of the large ships are generally mounted with a set of shock supports that isolate the electronic console from the deck of the ship. It should be pointed out that by explosive shocks it is generally meant to mean shocks which may impart in excess of 5 g's for a duration of 100 milliseconds or more. It is these type of high impact shocks that can cause havoc often resulting in operator injury caused by impact with the console or the deck of the equipment.
A prior art way to prevent injury to the operator on a ship is to include a seat belt to maintain the operator in the operator's chair should the ship supporting the operator station be hit. However, oftentimes the impact on the deck of such shocks is sufficiently great so that even though the operator is restrained, the operator is still injured or killed. In other instances operators, which are not or cannot be restrained, are injured or killed because it is simply not feasible to use a safety belt. Thus, even though the ship might still be functional, the operators required to operate the ship can be so severely injured so as not to be able to operate their stations, thus possibly placing the remaining crew and the ship in jeopardy.
The present invention provides an improvement to the prior art shock isolations system by isolating a deck platform from the ship to form a unitary isolation platform which simultaneously supports both the operator station and the operator's console. The isolation platform generally includes a unitary work deck, which is considerably less massive than the ship, so that the isolation platform can be supported from the deck by conventional vibration and shock absorbers so that the effect of explosive impacts on the deck can be simultaneously isolated from both the operator station and the operator console to thereby minimize the chance of injury or death to the operator from displacement of the equipment relative to the operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,217 shows a type of small vehicle isolation system that isolates the crew seat for an aircraft. The crew seat is mounted directly to the body of the aircraft, with a set of rails being capable of distorting up to 10 degrees during an impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,546 shows a system to prevent an operator from the effects of undue motions as the tractor travels over uneven terrain by having an operator station for a tractor cab with the console and the operator mounted on a platform that is coupled to the frame of the tractor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,051 shows a conventional shock-isolation method and apparatus for a large ship mounted device with a shock isolation apparatus mounted between the fire-control system and the deck of the ship.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,320 discloses a spring shock system for use in a marine vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,684 shows an improved vibration damping and shock absorber for the cab of a truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,259 shows a vibration-damping and shock-absorbing cabin for construction equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,859 discloses springs and shock dampers for supporting a standing surface on a material-handling vehicle.
U.S. Pat. Re. 29,123 discloses a tractor with a unitary cab and control console that are vibrationally isolated from the tractor chassis.